Michel, César et Léo TROISGROS

Presentation

Troisgros. The name alone is enough to set the scene, that of a mythical family of which there are only a handful, along with the Haeberlin and Pic families, and that's about it. There was Jean-Baptiste, who, with his wife Marie, bought the Hôtel des Platanes, opposite Roanne station, in the early 30s. He wasn't a chef, but his sons Jean and Pierre would be.

It was the latter two who, in 1953, gave their name to the hotel-restaurant. Twenty years later, after spending four days in Pierre and Jean's kitchens "as marmitons", Henri Gault and Christian Millau described their house as "the best restaurant in the world". This was the era of Nouvelle Cuisine, of salmon escalope with sorrel. In 1983, Pierre's son Michel took over from his uncle, who had died too soon. Michel was 25 years old, and he quickly assumed great importance, breathing new life into the kitchen. His father gradually stepped back and gave free rein to the man we've twice named "Chef of the Year", in 1987 (with his father), then on his own in 2003, rewarding a true auteur's cuisine, ahead of its time.

It was he who, with his wife Marie-Pierre and sons César (who joined him in the kitchen in 2011 and oversaw the move) and Léo (the youngest, chef at Colline du Colombier), took the tough decision to leave Place de la Gare and move to Ouches, a few kilometers from Roanne. César, who is so concerned with ecology and biodiversity, was eager to change his world.Today, he is the fourth generation of an immense family of chefs whose name we are sure will live on for decades to come.